Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (z-lib.org).mobi

We travelled through the early hours of the morning, past the stone streets of
Os Alta and onto the wide dirt swath of the Vy. Dawn came and went.
Occasionally, I dozed, but my fear and discomfort kept me awake for most of the
ride. When the sun was high in the sky and I’d begun to sweat in my thick coat,
the wagon rolled to a stop.
I risked taking a look over the side of the cart. We were behind what looked
like a tavern or an inn.
I stretched my legs. Both of my feet had fallen asleep, and I winced as the
blood rushed painfully back to my toes. I waited until the driver and the other
members of the troupe had gone inside before I slid out from my hiding place.
I figured I would attract more attention if I looked like I was sneaking around,
so I stood up straight and walked briskly around the building, joining the bustle
of carts and people on the village’s main street.
It took a little eavesdropping, but I soon realised I was in Balakirev. It was a
small town almost directly west of Os Alta. I’d been lucky; I was heading in the
right direction.
During the ride, I’d counted the money Baghra had given me and tried to
make a plan. I knew the fastest way to travel would be on horseback, but I also
knew that a girl on her own with enough coin to buy a mount would attract
attention. What I really needed to do was to steal a horse – but I had no idea how
to go about that, so I decided to just keep moving.
On the way out of town, I stopped at a market stall to buy a supply of hard
cheese, bread and dried meat.
“Hungry, are you?” asked the toothless old vendor, looking at me a little too
closely as I shoved the food into my pack.
“My brother is. He eats like a pig,” I said, and pretended to wave at someone
in the crowd. “Coming!” I shouted, and hurried off. All I could hope was that he
would remember a girl travelling with her family or, better yet, that he wouldn’t
remember me at all.
I spent that night sleeping in the tidy hayloft of a dairy farm just off the Vy. It
was a long way from my beautiful bed at the Little Palace, but I was grateful for
the shelter and for the sounds of animals around me. The soft lowing and rustle
of the cows made me feel less alone as I curled on my side, using my pack and
fur hat as a makeshift pillow.
What if Baghra was wrong? I worried as I lay there. What if she’d lied? Or
what if she was just mistaken? I could go back to the Little Palace. I could sleep
in my own bed and take my lessons with Botkin and chat with Genya. It was
such a tempting thought. If I went back, would the Darkling forgive me?
Forgive me? What was wrong with me? He was the one who wanted to put a